Brooks Lee’s Debut Was A Reflection Of His Professional Development.
When I talked to Brooks Lee at CHS last summer, he immediately gave off the undeniable vibe that he was a coach’s son. Sure, we gabbed about nonsense like his favorite ice cream flavor (he likes anything with peanut butter) and how much he despises the one-way streets scattered across Lowertown St. Paul. But he also spoke with the confidence and determination that all savants use when talking about their craft.
He said all the right things. He was focused on being a good teammate, felt like he was in the best shape of his life, and welcomed the challenge in front of him. And while Lee felt excited to be at the doorstep of the major leagues, he acknowledged that there was plenty of work to do before he would get the call.
“The pitching here has been much harder to handle compared to where I was at before. That’s no secret,” Lee said on that late-August afternoon. “I have to do a better job of getting on base. I think I’ll get where I want to be eventually. It’s just going to take some time.”
Well, the time was right on Wednesday. Lee got the official call to the big league club, with Royce Lewis going back on the injured list. It’s a special day for an exciting player and fan base hungry for as many special moments as they can find on their path back to the postseason.
“It never gets old for us to watch young men out there achieving their dreams right before your eyes,” said manager Rocco Baldelli. “Our sport is a pretty special sport in that regard where you get your moment basically in front of the entire stadium.”
Lee’s hopefully fabled career started with some understandable nerves. You could see it in his first at-bat. He had anxious pulses jittering down his leg, almost as if he was trying to find the perfect balance point before locking in on the incoming pitch. At the end of Round 1, Keider Montero froze him with a high slider to end the inning.
“No one can really help you once you get in the box,” Baldelli said. “You kind of got to go out there and fend for yourself and get it done.”
